Sunday, February 1, 2009

Return to Racing

January is in the books, and the training went much better than expected. For the month, I managed 37 hours of running (ran on all 31 days) and about 10 hours of walking for a total of 258 and 38 miles respectively. I also did about 15 hours of other activity (lifting and yoga). I have finally stumbled upon a leg routine that is keeping my hamstring issues in check, though I decided to not push things too much with any faster flat running last month.

February will hopefully see me start to do more structured training as I get ready for my first real race in over a year - the Way Too Cool 50K for which I'm incredbily psyched. Obviously it goes without saying that the only reason for me to run WTC is to get an entry into WS. So there you have it; I've decided to run WS again to get that monkey off my back (2 injury DNFs)!

I don't like anything about WS (the weather, the dust, the crazy entry fee, the hype) but the fact remains that it is the "big one" and I'd hate to miss out on what looks like the most competitive field ever. The previous 2 times I raced WTC I went out at an insane pace and led for much of both races before falling apart on the big hill at 26 miles and ending up way behind the winners (Dave one year and Phil the other) in 2nd and 3rd. This year it will be all about running smart; 3rd place is a win - but 4th would suck!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paul- It's great to hear that you're doing well with the training. Sounds like you're doing all the right things to succeed this year... Go get 'em!!

Anonymous said...

Paul - what is your leg routine that has worked for your hamstring? Good luck with the training and races.

Olga said...

Tall order, way to put it out there! Scary to even think about it:) I saw the lay-out of runner's digest on realendurance.com. Holly cow.

Justin Ricks said...

82 miles in the last 7 days with this morning run at 35:15 thats awesome. I wish I could have been there this morning but work has just been crazy maybe next week.

Paul DeWitt said...

Dave - good to hear from you! Any chance you'll make it out west for a run this season?

anon - I am working on getting photos and descriptions of all my leg stuff for the runners I coach and will also be posting it here within the next week hopefully.

Dave said...

Hey... watch it! I'm from Detroit originally. Detroit's a great place for sprinters; not distance runners.

I'm nowhere near as talented or accomplished as you are - but recently learned the value of leg exercises w/weights. I've battled several injuries and am coming off tendon issues (partial tear) due to leg strength imbalances.

I'm pulling for you - I'm on the comeback trail as well.

Dave

Paul DeWitt said...

Dave from Detroit - Darn, I should have said "sounded like we were running through Newark" I guess! Actually, I have to be nicer to Detroit as I just got a very nice furniture commission from a client in Detroit. Good luck with your own injury rehab, and look for a writeup this weekend hopefully on the leg/core stuff I've been doing.